The present invention relates to an apparatus for puffing into contact a defined quantity of treatment material with an aqueous solution to be treated, and in particular an apparatus for putting a biocide material into contact with an aqueous solution liable to develop microorganisms. The invention also relates to a treatment process of the aqueous solution liable to develop microorganisms. The apparatus can also be used in particular to put into contact a material capable of trapping silver with a photographic processing solution.
In the industrial field, the growth of microorganisms in aqueous solutions is a known phenomenon that requires the utilization of biocide. The role of biocides is to inhibit the growth and/or proliferation of microorganisms. In particular in the field of photography it is known that when the growth of microorganisms is not checked, the aqueous solution transforms into slurry that causes the clogging-up of equipment, the deterioration of processing baths and a deterioration of the quality of the photographic images.
For environmental protection reasons it is desirable to reduce the quantity of biocide necessary for the inhibition of the growth of microorganisms. In fact too much biocide in effluents is not acceptable when these effluents have to be treated by a purification plant.
The French patent application No. 9915123 describes a biocide material that enables the quantities of biocides necessary to inhibit microorganism growth to be reduced and that stays active for several weeks.
It is a material comprising a water permeable matrix in which a mixture of biocides is dispersed of which at least one of the biocides is a hydrophilic biocide and at least one of the biocides is a hydrophobic biocide, the biocide materials being chosen from among the isothiazolones. To be active the biocide material must be crossed by the aqueous solution to be treated, for example water. Such material is utilized in gel form.
To be utilizable the biocide material in gel form and more generally all treatment material must be confined in a container to prevent unwanted diffusion in the solution to be treated.
It is an object of the invention to provide an apparatus for putting into contact a controlled quantity of treatment material with an aqueous solution which is easy to set up.
It is another object of the invention to provide an apparatus for putting into contact a controlled quantity of treatment material with an aqueous solution that enables the treatment material to be correctly confined while maximizing its efficiency.
It is yet another object of the invention to provide a treatment process for an aqueous solution implemented by an apparatus that is easy to set up and which enables the treatment material to be correctly confined while maximizing its efficiency.
The invention relates to an apparatus for putting into contact a defined quantity of treatment material with an aqueous solution to be treated. The apparatus comprises at least one medium permeable to the aqueous solution in which the treatment material is placed. The medium is made of polyester foam and has the form of a closed envelope. The treatment material present in the at least one medium is a material for trapping a compound to be eliminated from the solution.
The invention also relates to a process for treating an aqueous solution comprising the step of putting into contact the aqueous solution with a treatment material in the apparatus for putting into contact a defined quantity of treatment material.